The tree will go dormant so it won’t need light, and you shouldn’t water it at all during this time. Another way to protect your banana plant during wintertime is to dig it up and move it to a cellar, crawlspace, or similar area where the temperature is consistently 45-50°F. Should I cut the babies and the main stalk? When that’s done, carefully dig out the rhizomes and roots. Any foliage left on the plant can suffer frost damage. You will be left with something that looks like a pole with roots. Expect to see slow growth during this period. I have about 10 bags of mulch and a frost blanket. As winter approaches, your banana tree will need some extra care and protection. Banana trees immediately conjure up a tropical laidback environment. Are you referring to New Braunfels, TX? With their large leaves and impressive height, banana plants can make a spectacular statement in the landscape. Both plants grow in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11, but even in these fairly moderate climate zones, an occasional extended heavy frost can damage or kill your plant unless you take the proper precautions. Place the root ball in a container of slightly moist sand. The banana is an attractive herbaceous flowering plant that grows to a mature height of 12 to 18 feet tall. To further ensure that your banana lives through the winter, dig it up, place the root ball in a black plastic bag and leave the plant in a cool, frost-protected spot, such as a basement or garage. At least 3 1/2 inches of rain fall each month in these areas. Uncredited photos: Shutterstock. © Copyright 2020 Hearst Communications, Inc. Water just enough so that the soil doesn’t separate from the sides of the container. How do you revive them after winter? The same technique didn’t work the second winter. If your plant is growing in the ground, one option for safely overwintering it is to protect it with thick layers of mulch. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. When the root ball stored in your garage or basement begins to send up new shoots – and if all threat of frost has passed – transfer the banana plant back outdoors. You’ll want to give your tree plenty of water to revive it. Whatever your reasoning for having a banana tree, you will need to maintain the leaves. You may lose any portion of the plant that sticks out above the cage, but the covered portions and the rhizome underground should be protected. Have you successfully overwintered one of these tropical beauties? If you're interested in a dwarf banana variety that grows well in a container, try the dwarf Cavendish banana (Musa 'Dwarf Cavendish'), USDA zones 9 through 11. After the first light frost, fill the cage with shredded leaves or straw. It’s time to put the Hardy Banana (Musa basjoo) to bed for the winter. And after you have 3 new sprouts you can remove one sprout and pot it up to make new planting. Provide humidity by misting the leaves via a squirt bottle filled with water. Before you start moving earth, though, you’ll want to cut the plant back to about six inches tall. I really don’t think we will have sustained freezing temps here, in the New Braunfels area. Whether you grow an ornamental flowering banana (Musa ornata) or an edible variety (Musa x paradisiaca), you need to plan carefully if you don't want to lose the plant when the temperature drops. leaves in one season. When temperatures drop below 55 degrees, banana trees stop growing and do need fertilizing, according to the University of Arizona. Make sure you pack it in well, so it completely surrounds the stem. The wind had toppled it in the fall and it rotted out. Make the cage as high as the amount of pseudostem you want to protect. 7 Tips You Need to Keep Fresh Flowers Fabulous, Chickens in the Garden: What You Need to Know, How to Identify and Treat Alternaria Leaf Spot on Turnips, How to Cure and Store Garlic from the Garden. Here is more about what we do. Susan Lundman began writing about her love of gardening and landscape design after working for 20 years at a nonprofit agency. A 15-foot “tree” in a pot would be a bit unwieldy! Nevertheless, most banana plants like it hot, and if you don’t live in USDA Hardiness Zone 9 or higher, you may wonder how you can add one of these tropical beauties to your landscape and keep it alive over winter. You have options if you need a more cold-hardy variety, such as Japanese banana (Musa basjoo), USDA zones 5 through 10, or Musa 'Orinoco,' USDA zones 7 through 10. How to Put Hardy Banana (Musa basjoo) to Bed for the Winter. Oh, Felco F-2, and All the Things You Can Do! Hobbyists hoping to cultivate bananas outside the tropics must carry out proper winter care of banana trees to prevent the early demise of the plants. My parents grow banana plants in their yard, and although they live in Maryland and it gets very cold in the winter, they come back year after year. Once banana trees are established the roots are frost hardy but young plants do not tolerate the cold nearly as well as older plants. Cutting them back is generally recommended to preserve their health through the winter, and I would plan to mulch them well for extra protection. Perhaps the most obvious way to successfully overwinter a banana tree is to grow it in a container and bring it indoors when temperatures drop. Having said that, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention that there are indeed a few cold-tolerant varieties available. I wintered the first one outside over a mild winter packed in stay and tarps. Can I do that and how? And it’s definitely time for a happy dance when she’s able to beat the squirrels to the peaches, figs, or loquats. Another alternative is to store your banana trees indoors during the winter. Its “trunk” is actually a cylinder of tightly layered leaves called a pseudostem. You can also wrap hessian or row cover material around the outside of the wire cage to add insulation and keep the material in place. The ideal temperature for growing banana plant is 79 to 82 degree Fahrenheit, while the growth of the plant comes to a halt at about 50 degree Fahrenheit. In Zone 8b, you’re right that a sustained freeze isn’t likely, but temperatures do often drop below freezing in the winter. Originally published on December 29, 2019. If your plant is small, you can wrap its trunk or cover the entire plant with blankets in the event that an extended frost or cold spell is forecast. There are a few easy steps to follow in order to properly prune your banana tree. You can spread the shredded leaves or straw around the base of the plant to provide some extra organic material to the soil. They need mild temperatures in order to grow; their leaves will stop growing at around 55°F. Some of these links may be affiliate in nature, meaning we earn small commissions if items are purchased. If your plant is movable and you have space, transfer it to an indoor location for the winter, give it direct sun for 6 to 8 hours a day and water it about once a week. There are about 70 species of the genus Musa, and they are indigenous to tropical areas of India, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia. We occasionally link to goods offered by vendors to help the reader find relevant products. The first one made it only three growing seasons dying in the second winter. I cannot find this question addressed anywhere. Bananas are tropical plants that thrive in hot weather. But if the temperature drops much below freezing, under 22 F, for example, or if the freeze lasts for an extended period, such as a week, the rhizome may die along with the leaves. It is best to select a dwarf variety for container growing. For example, the ‘Japanese Fiber’ variety (M. basjoo) can withstand sub-zero temperatures. That would sure save space. It is best to select a dwarf variety for container growing. Here, we’ll offer three ways you can protect and preserve your banana plant over the winter months: Perhaps the most obvious way to successfully overwinter a banana tree is to grow it in a container and bring it indoors when temperatures drop. Somewhere I heard you could cut off the plants and store the roots. They are now grown in more than 135 countries, mostly for their fruit, which is enjoyed around the world. A cold hardy banana tree that is planted outside will go dormant during the winter when temperatures drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. You have a couple options in terms of where you place it indoors. Its large leaves, purple flowers, and brightly colored fruit make a dramatic statement in the garden. For a container plant that you're not able to move indoors, cut the foliage down to soil level after the first frost. In areas with mild winters and only one or two days of freezing temperatures, leave the container outdoors and protect the soil with a thick layer of mulch; wrap the pot if a heavy frost is predicted. Winter Care for Banana Trees May 9, 2014. What happens to the cold hardy banana tree during the winter? If you’d like to adorn an empty corner of your living room, make sure it’s a sunny spot and be sure to keep the soil moist, but not soggy. I dug it the third winter and have ever since. In the winter, the banana tree stops growing and needs different care to preserve it until spring. I’m not sure which type you are growing, but keep in mind that bananas are semi-tropical/tropical plants. 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